Apple Introduces "Find My Friends" Feature

Tuesday October 4, 2011 10:49 am PDT by Jordan Golson

Apple's rumored "Find My Friends" feature has arrived as an App to locate (with permission) users' friends and family with iOS devices on a map, much like Google Latitude.

Users can easily set privacy controls including only sharing location during certain times of day and more. “At the end of the day, location sharing stops automatically. Easily locate friends and family, temp sharing options, simple privacy controls…”

Image courtesy GDGT

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buffard

Posted: 8 months ago

a virtual leash thanks apple my kids will love it

Rating: 7 Positives / 0 Negatives

nagromme

Posted: 8 months ago

A couple times a year I really wish for something like this on my iPhone!

For the conspiracy nuts who think that this feature lets Apple track you (and give your realtime location to the Koch Brothers) even if you opt out... how do you know they weren’t already tracking you long before this feature was given to us :) Adding a highly-public user-facing feature is not the way to hide evil schemes.

Rating: 4 Positives / 0 Negatives

MOFS

Posted: 8 months ago

i hate how this is limited to only iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad users because I dont know enough people with these devices and the people I do know that have them I really dont want to share my location with.

You hate how this iOS feature is limited to only Apple products?:confused:

Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives

DoubleU

Posted: 8 months ago

Adding a highly-public user-facing feature is not the way to hide evil schemes.

Hidden in plain sight :)

Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives

peterski

Posted: 8 months ago

I actually welcome this with open arms, and rested thumbs... I got nothing to hide as far as my location, and during the day I get close to 30 texts with "Where are you?" I'll just set this to cruise, and enjoy the ride! :D

Rating: 2 Positives / 0 Negatives

bigcat318

Posted: 8 months ago

It's different because that feature finds your own phone. This finds the location of other people's phones IE finds them.

I think back to many not-so-sober nights in the city where there was a lot of 'Where is so-and-so?" and how with this we could see where they stumbled off to at the end of the night.

Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives

shotts56

Posted: 8 months ago

Ditto, and I think most sane people think the same way. The practical uses are excellent, such as knowing when your other half will be home from work, exactly where the kids are, how far away from the pub your mate is when you're wondering whether to order another drink etc.

The usual "moon landing is fake" nutters will no doubt be up in arms though.

Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives

zachlegomaniac

Posted: 8 months ago

Just in time for my favorite holiday!

To paraphrase Dave Eggers: We have sacrificed our ambiguity for accessibility.

Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives